Over the years, cars have become increasingly technological wonders – with many automakers heralding a revolution – the advent of the automated vehicle.
Until then, automakers introduce incredible amounts of new systems on their cars – many useful, many life saving but still, just as many – superfluous, obtrusive or darn stupid. We’ll give you an example – in 1974 some cars were equipped with seat-belt-interlock system. That gimmick required all occupied seats to have their seat belts fastened before the car would start – imagine what happened when you needed to move the car on the driveway or in a parking lot. So, forty years later, here are some contemporary annoyances.
5. Manual gearbox is unavailable – we agree that automatics have come a long way, even offering better fuel economy than their stick counterparts. But not giving the option of a manual gearbox because of cost efficiency is just an insane way to justify the execs have no intention to care about a customer’s desire.
4. Not so smart keyless system – forgetting about your key and just pushing a button to start the car or open the doors is great. But how about when the system doesn’t read fast enough that you drive the car and the key just left in your half’s purse, on her way to an intercontinental flight?
3. Virtual buttons for all functions – ladies and gentlemen, the car you drive has just rebooted and you can’t change the fact the air conditioning system is blowing hot air during the summer or you don’t have access to the rear hatch release because your display is broken.
2. Fake car noise – when it’s used to warn pedestrians because you drive a silent electric car it’s ok. But when it’s used – like in the instance of BMW’s i8 – to bring back the feeling of a much more powerful car only through the use of the stereo/surround system it becomes a little idiotic.
1. Reduced control over the car – we’ll have self-driving cars by 2020 say the automakers. But how about those situations – you rapidly turn your steering wheel to avoid a collision or a kid jumping after a ball in a split second decision, even choosing to skid or hit a parked car, and the computer disagrees and puts you back?! And that was just an example of how human mind can still leverage over artificial intelligence.